In a stunning upset, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House, lost his primary challenge to a tea party-backed candidate Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

With more than 75 percent of precincts reporting, the AP called economics professor Dave Brat the surprise winner of the GOP nomination for Virginia’s 7th congressional district.

Cantor, who serves as the House majority leader, heavily outspent Brat and was widely expected to survive the challenge from the right.

I just hope the tea party guy is crazy enough to make the district go to the Democratic candidate, but I think it means we replace a somewhat crazy guy with a very crazy guy as most likely the guy who got the Republican nomination will win in this district.

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Originally Posted by Sydde

That seat did not exist in 1971.

There was a 7th district, but it was just in a different place, the current boundary dates from 1993 I think and has never elected a Democrat.

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"Jesus was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for mankind." -Mikhail Gorbachev

Do you know what this means? Don't get the celebration started too early. It means one more TEA Party member in the US House. There hasn't been a Democrat in that seat since 1971.

You could well be right. Perhaps the make-up of that district is guaranteed to vote conservative.

But I still am celebrating.

I look forward to hearing all of the [potentially] nutty things Brat has said in the past. I think it benefits the progressive cause when the far right makes inroads like this and gets to expose their untenable and politically unreasonable positions. It's a great wake-up call.

Do you know what this means? Don't get the celebration started too early. It means one more TEA Party member in the US House. There hasn't been a Democrat in that seat since 1971.

This actually means nothing. This is just the Republican Primary for the general election in November for that seat. All that this means is that Eric Cantor is not in the general election this November; Dave Brat is.

No-one is going to be celebrating anything except clearing a Republican hurdle until November. Then we will find out what will happen.

Obamacare has proven to be an economically disastrous law and an unconstitutional power grab by our Federal Government. .... I support a plan to defund the law and replace it with free-market solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care.

Guess this guy missed the part where the Supreme Court decided that it is constitutional. Defunding Obamacare, just like the Republicans have failed to do for tens of times already. They definitely succeeded in wasting time and money by repeatedly trying, though. It looks like this guy is ready to do the same.

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Fiscal Responsibility
Our national debt has skyrocketed, reaching over $17 trillion dollars. What our leaders in Washington fail to mention is the $127 Trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities (see U.S. Debt Clock).

Looks like he's using the classic unfunded liabilities scare tactic, not to mention he's using absolute (as opposed to relative) figures to describe the public debt, which is stupid in itself.

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Immigration
When addressing the issue of immigration, we must start by securing our border. An open border is both a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore. I reject any proposal that grants amnesty and undermines the fundamental rule of law. Adding millions of workers to the labor market will force wages to fall and jobs to be lost.

This guy has a great plan to destroy the U.S. economy. The American economy is built on immigrants and, especially in specialised industries, would collapse without the current visa and immigration system. The scientific and engineering industries, for instance, have such a shortage of domestic skills that the only thing supporting them is the H-1B visa. What this guy plans to do to appease the Tea Party folk is to obliterate a good chunk of the American economy.

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2nd Amendment
I will oppose any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.

I am a strong supporter of gun rights. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution for a reason - it provides the people with the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty. I will oppose any back door attempts to confiscate guns or create a national gun registry.

Sounds like a typical gun nut to me. I can't recall any bill tabled in the Congress that advocated a national gun registry or the instruction to confiscate guns. It sounds like he isn't prepared to pass any sensible regulation at all so that it appeases the Tea Party and paints him as a saint of freedom.

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National Security/Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan said it best: “Peace through strength.” A strong military is essential to the success of our nation. We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future. In addition, I support a full investigation into the Benghazi attacks.

That's right, folks, we're "$17 trillion" in debt but we can't touch the military. Nope. No. Absolutely not. Suddenly his point about fiscal responsibility disappears as soon as the military is mentioned.

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Uphold Human Life
Human life is sacred, as proclaimed by our founding documents, and I will always support laws that protect life.

He really likes to emphasise that he stands for freedom... and then believes that he has the right to dictate what a woman does with her own body. Unbelieveable.

Sadly nothing new to see here folks. It's shameful that people with these views don't shock me anymore in American politics as they've become more and more infiltrating of the Republican Party.

According to ballotpedia, there will be two additional candidates in the general election, besides Brat and the Democat Trammel. Of note, one of them, James Carr is running on the Libertarian ticket: a Tea-Shirt may have a hard time distinguishing himself from a Libertarian, there might be some cannibalization on the right.

I do not understand why the left is celebrating. This adds one more TEA Party member to the US Congress. No Democrat is going to take that seat. What has happened is that the seat has moved farther to the right.

Guess this guy missed the part where the Supreme Court decided that it is constitutional. Defunding Obamacare, just like the Republicans have failed to do for tens of times already. They definitely succeeded in wasting time and money by repeatedly trying, though. It looks like this guy is ready to do the same.

Looks like he's using the classic unfunded liabilities scare tactic, not to mention he's using absolute (as opposed to relative) figures to describe the public debt, which is stupid in itself.

This guy has a great plan to destroy the U.S. economy. The American economy is built on immigrants and, especially in specialised industries, would collapse without the current visa and immigration system. The scientific and engineering industries, for instance, have such a shortage of domestic skills that the only thing supporting them is the H-1B visa. What this guy plans to do to appease the Tea Party folk is to obliterate a good chunk of the American economy.

Sounds like a typical gun nut to me. I can't recall any bill tabled in the Congress that advocated a national gun registry or the instruction to confiscate guns. It sounds like he isn't prepared to pass any sensible regulation at all so that it appeases the Tea Party and paints him as a saint of freedom.

That's right, folks, we're "$17 trillion" in debt but we can't touch the military. Nope. No. Absolutely not. Suddenly his point about fiscal responsibility disappears as soon as the military is mentioned.

He really likes to emphasise that he stands for freedom... and then believes that he has the right to dictate what a woman does with her own body. Unbelieveable.

Sadly nothing new to see here folks. It's shameful that people with these views don't shock me anymore in American politics as they've become more and more infiltrating of the Republican Party.

If you describe that as the Republican platform then I can't see how anybody would support it. AFAIK nothing I mentioned, except the abortion part, falls near partisan politics. They are just objectively terrible (and vague) ideas.

Looks like he's using the classic unfunded liabilities scare tactic, not to mention he's using absolute (as opposed to relative) figures to describe the public debt, which is stupid in itself.

Let's also check and see why it's so high...

Am I missing something where the only time in the last 55 years where spending has been cut in actual dollars is in the last 5 years? It's also only 3-5% higher in terms of GDP than during Saint Reagan's term. Something's odd.

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This guy has a great plan to destroy the U.S. economy. The American economy is built on immigrants and, especially in specialised industries, would collapse without the current visa and immigration system. The scientific and engineering industries, for instance, have such a shortage of domestic skills that the only thing supporting them is the H-1B visa. What this guy plans to do to appease the Tea Party folk is to obliterate a good chunk of the American economy.

I don't think our economy should be built upon low-paying immigrant jobs. The jobs should be paying decent wages to Americans, not stranding Americans without jobs while letting in a bunch of immigrants in to work for scraps. Our economy will never rebound otherwise.

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That's right, folks, we're "$17 trillion" in debt but we can't touch the military. Nope. No. Absolutely not. Suddenly his point about fiscal responsibility disappears as soon as the military is mentioned.

Yep. Pretty typical. We need to cut spending!! But we can't touch one of the biggest spenders!

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A lack of planning on your part should not constitute an emergency on mine.

Yeah, the Tea Party basically came about because Bush made the Republican name too toxic so a lot of them wanted a different name and came up with the tea party, but it's basically the extreme right wing of the Republican party.

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"Jesus was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for mankind." -Mikhail Gorbachev

I do not understand why the left is celebrating. This adds one more TEA Party member to the US Congress. No Democrat is going to take that seat. What has happened is that the seat has moved farther to the right.

I think it reflects a sense that the TEA Party/Mainstream split in the GOP has damaged the party's ability to act in a unified manner to carry out its objectives.......and it clearly has stunned the GOP itself;

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The news hit Republicans in Washington hard Tuesday evening when word spread that Cantor had lost.

"I have to say I don't know of anyone who expected this," said a plugged-in conservative insider who requested anonymity to speak openly. "The shock among people who are supposed to know that world is like nothing I've seen."

At a fundraiser for Rep. Doug Collins (R-Georgia) in Washington, a room full of GOP donors and Hill staffers fell silent when the news circulated.

It was Cantor (along with Mitch McConnell) who set up the GOP as the Party of No at the beginning of the Obama administration. According to former Ohio Senator George Voinovich, “If he (Obama) was for it, we had to be against it.”

Now he's a victim of the monster he helped create. What sweet poetic justice.

If you describe that as the Republican platform then I can't see how anybody would support it. AFAIK nothing I mentioned, except the abortion part, falls near partisan politics. They are just objectively terrible (and vague) ideas.

I would say Brat is spot on with the Republican platform. I wish him all the luck.